Uzumaki Naruko: Kunoichi and Ashikabi
by LeNub
Summary: The long, arduous battle came to it's conclusion with one final showdown, this last clash of titans signaling in the end of the gruesome Fourth Shinobi War. When Naruko regained her consciousness, she woke up in an unfamiliar place. Setting out into this strange, new world she once again finds herself in the middle of some madman's schemes.
1. The end of the Fourth Shinobi War

**Been wanting to get back into writing for a while now, but constantly found myself unable to put any words on 'paper'. The idea for this story came completely out of nowhere, while I was at work. A concept I never thought about writing before, meaning both the crossover matter as well as the Fem Naruto bit. I really liked the idea though and even during work I found myself planning out large parts of the story in my head already.  
**

**It is very different from my first story, which sadly is unlikely to be continued at this point. That one I practially forced myself into, just for a desire to write. I kept losing 'connection' with it and never really had a longterm idea for the story. This time, in an unexpected spur of inspiration, I have a pretty solid idea of where to go with it. **

**Also I'm not quite as concerned with staying loyal to the 'rules of physics' in the cannon in either universe. Giving my own whirl to several things, rather than restricting myself. Naruko's story leading up to the start of this one is a mix of cannon-ish and completely non-cannon events, some will get explained while some might not be.**

**Few important points to mention: I've amped up the ages a little. Naruko will be 19 years old by the start of the story. She will also have a lot more mature side to her with quite an analytical mindset, without taking away from her more fun-loving / cheeky side.  
While she herself isn't overly profound with seals, Naruko did learn enough from Jiraiya on the matter to have seals engraved upon both her arms that are not actually visible on her skin without Naruko actively pumping chakra into them. Mostly storage seals. The Death Reaper Seal will no longer appear on her abdomen either.  
**

**The first chapter ended up a bit slower paced than I originally intended, with less active interaction and much more description of things. Hope people will enjoy it nonetheless and I look forward to progress through this story a lot.**

**Rated M for the occasional bit of language and possible suggestive themes.**

**Last but not least! Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Sekirei!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The end of the Fourth Shinobi War**

Numb.

That was the best way to describe her current state as she stared at the pink-haired body laying not far from her, motionless. A scorched, gaping hole in her chest with blood still seeping from the gruesome wound from around the scorch-marks.

She was well aware of the person standing a fair distance away from her and she knew, she just **knew**, he had that disgustingly smug grin on his face. Despite this however, she could not pull her eyes away from the lifeless body of her team-mate and one of her best friends. Dead, because she had dropped her guard thinking it was finally over. Of course it wasn't. **He** was still alive after all.

Slowly she looked up from the motionless form of her team-mate to her former team-mate. Eyes narrowing slightly while, other than that, she kept her expression neutral. Struggling to keep a clear, calm mind as the numbness started to be replaced as seething anger and a deep sorrow welled up inside of her. Before her stood none other than the very person she brought down the seemingly invincible Uchiha Madara with. Sasuke.

_'How could I have been so stupid... He never had a change of heart. We simply had a common goal, to stop Madara at all costs.' _Naruko thought bitterly as glared straight into Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, not at all worried about any Genjutsu he might intend to use. If the arrogant bastard was even considering trying at all. Not that it would work, not anymore.

Shortly after the two of them had finally managed to kill Madara once and for all, when she thought the was was finally over Sasuke had seen his moment to strike. She noticed too late, and instantly knew she would not be able to dodge the Chidori aimed straight for her chest in time. Then it happened, a flash of pink shot into her view as Sakura placed herself between the two in the nick of time. It seemed Sakura had **not** missed Sasuke's intentions, unlike herself.

"You... Bastard..." were the pinkette's last words as she hacked up an obscene amount of blood. Cocking her right arm to strike at the man she had so long harbored feelings for, intending to at least break his jaw before she would die. Sasuke was quick to overcome his own surprise however and dislodged his hand from Sakura's chest and leaped back. Sakura collapsed almost instantly as her last few ragged breaths left her.

And now there he stood before her, grinning almost gleefully as every so often his right hand would twitch in anticipation. His weariness and battered state seemingly a thing of the past, adrenaline surging through him for what was to come. Yet it was obvious he felt entirely content in dragging out this standoff for as long as it lasted, now that he couldn't catch her off guard anymore.

She felt similar in a way. However for her it wasn't the gleeful anticipation, but outright hatred and disgust for the man before her. Exhaustion seeping out of her as she steeled herself for one last confrontation, one last piece of **filth** that needed to be eradicated before peace could be possible.

"Why so surprised, Naruko? I told you I was going to be the next Hokage once this war was over. Something that will never happen with you still alive to contest the position. A pity that Sakura decided to get in the way. But then again... She did always have a knack for that." Sasuke said in his cold, emotionless tone. Naruko could clearly sense the undertone of glee hidden in his words however, almost as if he preferred this outcome over the initial one.

Naruko didn't allow herself to respond to the Uchiha's words. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of riling her up. That was simply something she couldn't afford, certain that he would get the best of her now if she lost her cool and charge him in a fit of rage . No, she needed to stay calm and ignore his taunting words. She would stifle the burning rage inside of her, still the sorrow in her heart. Then... Then she would **destroy** him.

* * *

Eight pair of feet, along with a set of animal paws, landed behind Naruko and she could practically feel the mealstrom of emotions rolling off of them all as they stared at the scene. Shock, horror, disbelief, anger, sorrow, disgust. She could feel it all, in no particular order or combination.

"S-Sakura..." Ino murmered, barely finding herself able to say even so much. Though they had often been at odds with each other when they were younger, the two of them had always been best friends. Killed by the very person they squabbled over so much in the past. She couldn't stop the tears from falling as it took all she had to not just break down entirely.

Kiba squinted his eyes shot and turned his head away, fighting back tears as Akamaru whined sadly. Anger soon overtook their grief as both of them began to growl fiercely in the direction of Sasuke, trembling in rage. "Y-you... Bastard!" he roared through his gritted teeth, eyes burning angrily. He was held back only by Naruko's stoic form in front of them. They would not move before she did.

Lee felt an eerie cold inside of him, as if his heart had just been pierced and left a hole there that would never fully heal. Aside from right before the first test of the Chunin Exams, he had never really bothered her with requests for a date or such. But he had always had a crush on the pinkette, since that first time he laid eyes on her. He knew she didn't return his feelings, but he had hoped... That she would look his way eventually. Now she never would. _'Sakura-san... I never got the chance to tell you. I love you.'_ he said deep in his thoughts, a tear rolling down his right cheek.

With a hand over her mouth, Hinata stifled the sobs that threatened to erupt from her dry throat. Her shoulders shaking as she cried silently. First Neji, who had sacrificed himself for her and Naruko. And now Sakura as well. Not to mention the countless of lives that had been lost during the Fourth Shinobi War. _'How many more must die before this nightmare is finally over?'_ she asked herself. Looking up at the Uchiha her eyes began to harden and she steeled herself. It would end here, she told herself.

With his right fist, Choji roughly tried to wipe away the tears from his cheeks as he looked at the still form of Sakura. He was shocked when Neji had died, dearly hoping no more of his friends would die in this horrible war. Now one of his former class-mates lay dead on the ground. Killed by another of their class-mates no less. As he struggled to regain his composure he turned his gaze towards the man in front of them all, a steely determination forming.

Shikamaru had his head bowed down and eyes screwed tightly shut, fists clenched at his side. Once again he had to watch a comrade die, completely helpless from the sidelines. War truly was a waking nightmare. So many lives lost, even more so than in all three previous wars combined. After saying a silent prayer for the pinkette he steadied himself, glaring towards the Uchiha with conviction burning in his eyes. He would fight, now and after the war. Fight for a lasting peace, so that no-one would ever have to experience war again.

Tenten bit her lower lip as she fought back her tears. She couldn't believe was had happened, one moment they were all celebrating the victory over Madara and the next moment Sasuke lunged at Naruko with a charged Chidori. Only to be intercepted by Sakura, sacrificing herself much like her own team-mate and crush had done during the early assaults of the Juubi. Just one look at Sasuke, his almost gleeful grin in particular, made her tremble. She just wanted it to end already, all these lives being lost because of those madmen. Her eyes snapped towards their enemy as she felt herself and her comrades next to her fill with determination.

The ever stoic Shino stood rigid in his spot, shoulders trembling slightly as he silently mourned the loss of his comrade. Though he never got really close to any of his comrades, he never considered them as anything less than close friends. His insects buzzed lightly, reacting to his sullen mood. _'Sakura-san... I will always remember your honorable sacrifice, and I hope you will find rest in the afterlife my friend.'_ When he finished his silent prayer he composed himself, though one could hardly tell he even lost it at first glance, and prepared himself to finally end this.

They had each taken a moment to mourn before eventually turning their gaze towards the Uchiha. They had felt helpless in the absolutely insane battle against Madara, but no more. This time, they would stand right by Naruko to support her against their final enemy.

* * *

Cerulean blues stared into the sickly gray of the Eternal Mangekyou's, neither of the two rivals moving even a single muscle other than taking slow and subtle breaths. Naruko had schooled her sharply sculptured features into a calm, neutral expression as she patiently waited for Sasuke to move first. She couldn't afford to move carelessly with those accursed eyes so focused on her.

As she had expected, he hadn't even made the slightest of efforts to place a Genjutsu on her. Either he was every bit as arrogant as she suspected, judging by his attitude, or he had figured it out himself that it simply wouldn't have worked on her anymore. They _had_ always been her weakness, after all. That ended when she and Kurama finally made peace and joined forces. Though at that point, the fighting had long gone past the point where majority of Genjutsu had any use.

Kurama, however, was no more. Another soul that was lost to this endless nightmare. At one point during their confrontation with Madara himself he had succeeded in extracting the Kyuubi from her entirely. She could still remember the hollowness that had become the only thing she remained aware of, while Gaara rushed her away from the front as fast as he could.

The only reason she still drew breath now was because of her father's sacrifice and the help of Kurama's other half that was still sealed within himself. She hadn't quite been able to wrap her head around how that was possible exactly, nor had she had the time to think much on it. She wasn't about to complain, as it was what ended up saving her life and restoring the Shinobi Alliance's fighting chance.

Minato and the Kurama-half sealed inside of him had worked together swiftly to completely transfer the Kyuubi over to Naruko, replacing the half that Madara had extracted from her moments earlier. The second time her father sealed half of the Kyuubi inside her, and the second time it was at the cost of his own 'life'. Not even his reanimated existence could endure through that. At least this time, at the very last moment as his body disintegrated, they had been able to speak a few quick parting words. It had barely been more than an exchange of _'I love you'_ s but to her, that meant a lot.

As soon as she was able, she got back to her feet and sped back towards the epicenter of the conflict with Kurama filling her in on what had happened exactly. And of his much-to-quickly-formed half-assed idea of a plan. Drawing out his other half back from the Gedo Statue before he it would transform again. No matter what, he gave no details other than saying he had a plan and she was too stupid to understand anyhow.

Oh, but she understood it just fine now. Madara had been falling back into the same cliché mistake so many 'I am mighier than thou' types seemed to make. Being arrogant and toying with his prey a little in their supposed final moments. She happily took advantage of the fact he seemed to not register her continued existence at all and in a flash, she was right next to the accursed Gedo Statue.

Smacking her open palms into the statue as per Kurama's instructions and let him carry out his plan. When he told her to pull on his chakra inside of her as hard as she could, she was expecting another chakra tug-o-war. But it never came. At least, she figured, not for her personally. Both halves of Kurama had taken that job upon themselves.

She didn't exactly know **how** but the end result made it overly clear to her **what** the plan had been. The Gedo Statue would have pulled on the Kyuubi's chakra with immense force, most likely more so than they would have been able to overcome. All it ended up extracting from her however, had been Kurama's soul. Thus leaving his chakra inside of her. As his soul was drawn into the statue, the half of the Kyuubi chakra that had already been inside the Statue was drawn **out**. The absorbed half of Kurama inside must have had the very same idea, being of the same whole.

And then there she stood, once again the 'Kyuubi Jinchūriki'. But not of half it's chakra this time, rather the entirety of it. Completely at her disposal as she could practically feel it harmonize with her own chakra. It was then that it had hit her exactly what had happened. Kurama, the feared Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful of the nine Bijuu who had for such a long time been lost in his rage and hatred for humans, had sacrificed himself. For her.

With tears in her eyes she was forced to jump away, dodging Madara's enraged attack when he finally noticed what was going on. It had given a small form of satisfaction to see his face so twisted in absolute fury at that moment. Apparently, having a Bijuu's chakra **forcefully** extracted from it was as bad for the Gedo Statue's health as any normal extraction was for a Jinchūriki. Unknowingly, to her at the very least, the sudden extraction of Kurama's chakra had disrupted the Statue's transformation into the Juubi and caused it to fall into a seemingly docile state.

It would be fair to assume it needed the Kyuubi's chakra to fix the damage she and Kurama had dealt to it. Which proved to be far more difficult to obtain now that Kurama's existence itself, was no longer there to latch on to.

That development signaled that the Fourth Shinobi War had at last reached it's climax. With the Gedo Statue temporarily out of the picture all that was left was Madara. And it soon became obvious that there were only two people left who had any capacity of standing up to the absurdly powerful man. Herself and Sasuke.

She had never forgiven his betrayal to Konoha. There were two reasons she kept pursuing him, and neither had anything to do with him becoming a team-mate again. First: She promised Sakura, and she'd be damned if she broke that promise despite her disgust for the man. Second: It was **her** fault that he gotten away in the first place. She failed to stop him, and it was her responsibility to drag his ass back to serve justice for his actions. Beaten and broken if need be.

Despite her feelings for the Uchiha however, they had worked in perfect unison together as they took on Madara. Their teamwork was better than it ever was and they continuously covered each other from Madara's unrelenting, overwhelming assaults. The battle had been both long and brutal to the absolute extreme. Massively large-scale jutsu were thrown back and forth as if they were nothing. Neither of the three ever tiring out.

Naruko in particular had been entirely impossible to tire out, now having the total of Kurama's chakra at her disposal. During the arduous battle she needed to drastically adept her entire manner of combat as she found herself unable to revert back into her Kyuubi Chakra Mode that she used throughout the war. Without Kurama's consciousness his chakra had become more a secondary chakra system for herself rather than anything else. She had remarkable control over it despite the vastness and potency of the chakra, but either it was not enough or she did in fact need Kurama's conscious aid to 'turn on' her Kyuubi Chakra Mode. She sure as hell didn't have time to figure **that** out during the fight though!

This of course meant no effortless passing around of Kurama's chakra, which luckily seemed unnecessary for Sasuke. She also was unable to form any more Bijuudama's in this state either, which was a tremendous setback. A setback she continuously negated more and more as the battle progressed with her ingenious ability to adapt, combining both of the chakra's for all manner of jutsu in a very similar fashion as she would with a Bijuudama.

The battle had, undoubtedly, scarred the lands for the rest of existence. The Shinobi Alliance had retreated as a whole several times over the course of the battle as more and more of the landscape was turned into a massive collection of craters. At the center of the far-stretching wastelands ridden with more craters and still burning patches of the black flames, were the possibly three most powerful Shinobi since the Sage still locked in their unrelentingly brutal battle.

After what had felt like several eternities, they had done it. With flawless teamwork and timing they had eventually managed to break Madara's gigantuous Sasanoo and ended it with absolute efficiency, leaving nothing to chance. Sasuke had pierced his heart with his Chidori, clearly a form of killing he enjoyed a lot, while Naruko had slammed a dual-chakra powered Rasengan to the back of Madara's head. Even he would not be getting back up from **that**.

It was not long after Madara's lifeless body had fallen to the ground that both survivors of the arduous battle gave each other a weak, trembling thumbs up. They stared for several long moments at the dead man before eventually, she turned her back to the last remaining Uchiha. Towards where she felt the chakra signatures of her friends. And it was in that same moment that Sasuke had finally decided to once again show his true colors as the traitor he was put into the Bingo Book for.

* * *

And now they were here. Bodies unmoving and eyes still locked on one another's, both of them recalling the path that led them to this apparent inevitability whilst never losing the focus on their opponent. At the end of this, only one would remain standing. That person would be the next Hokage without doubt, be it by popularity of by force. That person would be key figure in leading the Elemental Nations into a new future, one through peaceful co-operation and the other by forceful demand of said co-operation.

As one, they began to mold their chakra into their right hands. Both charging up their respective signature jutsu. Slowly, as if to savor the end, they pumped more and more chakra into their jutsu. Condensing it further and further as they put everything into this one move. This was not going to be a battle. This was one showdown, the true climax of the Fourth Shinobi War. A repeat of the climax of their fight years ago, at the Valley of the End.

Naruko remembered it well. Sasuke's Chidori had overcome her Rasengan and was driven into her chest. But before that, the initial clash of their jutsu, which were laden with their instable, negative-emotions-filled chakra, had caused a tremendously destructive discharge. The blackness that surrounded them for that brief moment felt like it was threatening to distort reality. Something she had never experience before, nor since, that moment. Then again, it wasn't often that two moves of such immense chakra density clashed head-on.

That was years ago. They were both infinitely more powerful right now, there simply was no comparison anymore to the two rivals that duked it out at the Valley of the End and the two titans that stood across one another today. Naruko could only imagine the result of their jutsu colliding to be...utterly cataclysmic.

With that thought firmly in mind she began to pump obscene amounts of Kurama's chakra into the Rasengan, condensing it's form even further while also keeping it stabilized. At the same time she used her own chakra to pour her air element into the ball of chakra, steadily yet at a very rapid pace. She was not going to form her Rasenshuriken, certain that that would more than likely kill them both. Nor was she too certain of her ability to keep it stable without clones or the chakra arms from her Kyuubi Chakra Mode.

_'This... Ain't gonna be pretty.'_ she thought bitterly. In their entire battle with Madara, not once had two jutsu of such magnitude directly collided like they were about to. _'Not pretty at all.'_

Never losing her focus on the dual-stream of chakra pumping into her Rasengan, she spoke in a firm commanding tone. "Take Sakura and get the **hell** out of here!"

"What?! No way, we're done sitting back!" yelled Kiba furiously, his fist raised at the blonde. Akamaru growled in agreement.

"Troublesome blonde... Why do you insist on shouldering everything by yourself?" was Shikamaru's agitated reply.

"Naruko-san, we are all here to support you. You are not alone. Why? Because we are comrades, we fight together." came from Shino, stoic as ever. Though even he seemed peeved at Naruko's demand they leave.

Gritting her teeth angrily, Naruko's right eyebrow twitched at the same time a vein on her forehead began throbbing.

"Naruko-san, you are my eternal rival! Therefor it would be most unyouthful if I would allow you to shoulder this burden on your own any longer!" shouted Lee in his usual loud voice.

"B-but... He killed Sa-"

"I said get the hell out! **NOW!**" Naruko snapped, cutting Ino and anyone else's complaints off. "Take Sakura and **GO!" **she yelled once more, ending all debate.

A moment of silence surrounded the eight peers, only for Hinata to be the first one to move. Dashing in to grab a hold of Sakura's body, offering Naruko one slight nod before jumping back to behind the line of her friends. "Please come back alive... Naruko." she whispered quietly before she sped off towards the edge of the crater where the majority of the Alliance still stood.

The remaining seven soon followed, bowing their head slightly at Naruko and offering her a few quiet words before setting off after Hinata.

Sasuke sneered as his former class-mates ran away. They were going to be bothersome in his claim to Hokage after he dealt with the blonde. Bothersome, but ultimately little more than that. They would not be able to stand against him anyhow. His lips soon curled back into a smug grin. "How noble of you, Naruko. Dying all alone for your friends. A Jinchūriki to the very end." he said in a cold, emotionless voice.

Black colored lightning coiled around his right hand, the normal chirping sound of the chidori giving way to much the lower rumbling of a distant lightning storm. His grin spread wide, much like Madara's had at several occasions, as he began to cackle madly. This was it! The ultimate proof of his superiority, one last glorious showdown against the wretch that considered herself **his** equal!

Naruko completely ignored Sasuke's words, remaining as motionless as they had been since they locked eyes. The sound generated from her rapidly spinning Fuuton: Rasengan joining in the rumbles of the Chidori announcing it's state of completion. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she twitched in her spot, once.

Then they both exploded in motion, in a flash they were in range and thrust their jutsu forward. Chidori colliding with an air element enhanced Rasengan and the result was immediate. The obscene amount of chakra discharging from the collision shredding the ground beneath them violently. Around them the air itself twisted and warped as they were enveloped in a solid, pitch-black sphere of chakra. Their shouts of their respective jutsu echoing far beyond the blackness.

"**CHIDORI!**" "**RASENGAN!**"

Then it happened. The last thing Naruko was consciously aware of was her Rasengan shredding into Sasuke's hand before the unstable chakra all around them erupted with the force of multiple natural disasters. All went black as an explosion greater than any before rocked the earth, the shockwave causing the ground to tear at the epicenter as it thundered outward. The force of the explosion reaching far enough to violently knock down many of the Shinobi gathered around the edge of the already massive crater, only few having the chakra left to keep themselves upright. A single lone figure rocketed out from the core of the explosion, body completely shredded and scorched as it tore through the earth for several dozen feet before coming to a stop.

As the near cataclysmic explosion finally subsided after what felt like an eternity, all that was left was the crater where that explosion started. As wide as it was before, but much deeper with a large tear at the center. A scar in the land that would not heal even in a thousand lifetimes.

When the dust cleared, across the entire wastelands of the crater only one body could be made out, the one that had been catapulted out of the epicenter at the moment of the eruption, mangled and scorched as it was. Almost entirely unrecognizable, one thing was clear. The corpse was that of a male.

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**That's chapter one done. Hope you enjoyed it, please feel free to share your thoughts in a review!**


	2. Shinto Teito

**Here is chapter number two at last! Took a bit longer than I intended due to work and occasional lack of concentration, but it's done!  
Feels like the general flow tends to get a little bit 'messy' here and there, but overall I'm quite happy with how it turned out.**

**I want to thank the people that left a review and / or PM. Appreciate it and reallt glad people seem to like the concept of the story.**

**To answer a some of the questions: Yes, the pairing will be yuri / shoujo-ai or whichever term you prefer.  
And for the 'harem' matter... Akitsu will definitely not be Naruko's only Sekirei, but romantically there will be a single addition to the Akitsu/Naruko pairing at most. Though I've not fully decided on that quite yet. Chances of any more actual romantic bonds than that is close to non-existant. Do intend on eventually filling out the two remaining character 'slots' at the appropriate times, romance or not.  
**

**Anyway, hope you will enjoy the second chapter! Feel free to let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Sekirei.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Shinto Teito**

_Naruko had woken up sore as all hell and disturbingly low on chakra, which was a feat in itself considering her reserves. She had absolutely no idea how long she had been out for, and even less of a clue as to **where** she was. Considering the state of exhaustion in which she woke up, she figured it must not have been long that she was out. As to where... Right underneath a pretty large bridge it seemed. One that had several smaller boats passing underneath._

_She needed a couple of hours before she felt strong enough to move around a little, and the first thing she did was unseal a set of clothing that was not entirely singed and ripped to shreds. Inwardly happy she had engraved storage seals unto her arms, both with equipment and a few sets of reserve clothing. Vane though it might be for a ninja, she was still a woman after all. And in no way wanted to walk around near-naked. Well... Not without actual intendion of doing so anyway._

_With plenty of groans and sighs she had eventually managed to wiggle herself into her fresh none-ripped clothing. Simple orange cargo pants and a black, short-sleeved top that reached halfway between her bust and belly button. Light mesh armor on her upper body, under her black shirt visible only on her abdomen. Her close-toed, black ninja sandals reaching up to just below her knee with her pants tugged into them. All together a rather form-fitting outfit, something that she felt wasn't all too comfortable in her sore state right now. With a sigh she absentmindedly combed her hands through her disheveled blonde mane, trying her best to straighten it out a little before deciding to just tie her entire mane into a low, rather messy ponytail._

_Now that her state of undress had been dealt with Naruko could put her mind to the, admittedly, far more pressing matters. Waking up in this unfamiliar place made her suspect she had been rocketed away at a high velocity, which would've made sense considering how crazy big the explosion must have been. However, she woke up underneath a bridge with not a single sign of torn up earth of her undoubtedly rough landing. Disregarding that for the moment, she decided to determine just how far she must have been sent flying. Completely stilling her form, she calmed her mind and focused on gathering the natural energy to enter Sage Mode and try and locate her friends and comrades. Only to find out that she was unable to, or more precise there was no natural energy to be gathered._

_That send her for a loop. No matter where she ended up in the Elemental Nations, there should by all means be enough natural energy for her to draw in. She was even sitting on a river-bank that was almost entirely covered in green grass! It made absolutely no sense. It was just then that she had taken a proper look around, more specifically looking past the bridge she had landed under. Eyes widening in shock as she shot to her feet, ignoring the painful protest of her aching muscles, and ran out from underneath the bridge._

_Across from the river was, even from her limited viewpoint here, easily by **far** the largest village she had ever seen. It was outright massive! And those buildings, she had never seen any building that high before. Some were even taller than the freaking Juubi was! Her breathing became labored as she staggered back under the bridge, her distressed mind barely able to considering staying out of sight for the time being was probably wise. _'W-where the hell am I...?'

_Plopping back down on the grass unceremoniously she raised her right knee, leaning forward with arms wrapping around her leg as she rested her forehead against her knee. She was at a loss. Was she dead? Was that... that outrageously large village what some people called the 'Afterlife'? She snorted at that thought, it was ridiculous even for her. That did still leave the question of where she actually was. Almost certainly no where near the Elemental Nations by the looks of it. Upon taking a deep breath, she noted that the air smelled entirely different as well. Not a clue what it was, but something her nose picked up was nothing like what she ever smelled before. Fatigue from the endless fighting, not to mention the many losses she endured, eventually getting the better of her as tears started to form in her eyes, shoulders shaking lightly as she cried silently. _

* * *

That was three days ago now.

Naruko had eventually cried herself to sleep under that bridge, waking up around sunrise the next morning feeling remarkably refreshed. A quick dip into the water to wash off the grime from her lightly tanned skin further helped her clear her mind. After getting dressed again she decided on her next course of action, exploring and gathering information about wherever she was. She ran across the water below the bridge, intent on staying entirely out of sight for the time being. It had taken more effort than she expected to move around unnoticed, the place was swarming with activity.

That's how she got to the spot she had been since, and still was now. On the roof of one of those incredibly tall, steel and concrete monstrosities. Buildings she found out were called skyscrapers apparently, a strangely poetic name for such ugly buildings in her opinion.

For the past few days she had done little more than remain perched upon one of the many skyscrapers, hopping from one to the other occasionally for no reason other than to just move. From up here she repeatedly sent a number of clones down into the city below, all of them transformed into civilians. She didn't have more than a maximum of twenty five clones at one time, not wanting to risk the possibility that people realize something weird was going on. What with non-existent people constantly appearing and disappearing again.

She had for the most part given her clones free reign as to how to go about their exploration and investigation of the city rather than planning anything out in advance. Trusting her ingenuity to work it's 'magic' in her clones. After all, they would be quicker in each deciding on one method of information gathering for themselves than how long it would take her to thing of twenty five ways on her own.

First several hours were spent creating new clones almost repeatedly, as they were dispelling themselves for the smallest bits they learned. Useful in one way...annoying in another. It always amazed her how for some reason she simply couldn't figure out, shadow clones sometimes tended to develop some form of attitude. Basically she was getting sass, from **her own clones**! One clone dispelled itself in a hissy fit, angry over the fact another clone had apparently learned the exact same thing and beaten her to it in dispelling to share the info. Moments like these she was seriously questioning her own sanity.

By now the initial crazy had long subsided and her clones stopped dispelling for every teeny tiny bit of information. Leaving her actually able to properly process what she had learned. For one she had been able to determine with a grim certainty that she was indeed no longer in a place that was even remotely connected to her home. Going as far as to belief she ended up in an entire different world, or dimension seemed to be a better term for it. Not a clue as to **how** exactly it happened, but there it was.

It caused her to go into a rather sullen mood for a while. Not knowing how she ended up here also meant she had no idea on how to get back. Her guess being that it was somehow caused by the clash between Sasuke and herself, which she couldn't exactly replicate. And even if she could, she wouldn't even think about doing so. She wasn't going to sacrifice a host of innocent lives on the off chance of replicating the effect that may or may not have gotten her here. Even **if** she managed to replicate it, there was no possible way to tell where she would end up. So she was stuck here in this unknown world.

She was broken out of her thoughts as one of her clones dispelled itself. Closing her eyes she processed the information for a moment. This one hadn't so much gone around studying the world rather than memorize one part of the city, both from up high up as from on the ground. By the looks of it, it was a residential area in the southern part of the city.

Shaking off the burst of information, she went back to her thoughts on her predicament of being stranded here. In some twisted sense of logic, her absence from the Elemental Nations may be a good thing in the long term. She was quite sure that Tsunade wouldn't take a whole lot of time in appointing her as the official sixth Hokage, the very position she had dreamed of since she was a kid. Also, she was well aware that the civilians were prone to hero worship. Something that occurred even among the shinobi ranks to some degree.

If she had remained in the Elemental Nations, it would mean she would've stood as the sole survivor of that titanic battle between herself, Sasuke and Madara. Judging by how the previous Hokage had been revered for their actions during the wars, she feared she might have become something of a living legend. Something that, now that she thought about it, could possibly lead to complications in the future.

Specially people from Konoha would probably not be able to see any fault in her actions or decisions, which in it's own way was fine. Together with the other Kage, and the old samurai, Mifune, from the Land of Iron, they would be able to lead the nations and it's people into a time of peace. While she was Hokage at least. It felt as if she was being entirely too bitter and negative, but she had seen how neglecting and unfair people could be. If they could see no fault in her, that very same line of thought was likely to turn on the person that would eventually end up as her successor. Everything he or she would do, would be heavily scrutinized and compared to herself. And not just by Konoha, but by the other villages and Kage as well. A matter of time before discontent would seep in **somewhere** and begin forming a rift.

No, legends were meant to be figures of the past. To take example in the memory of that person. Much better for someone else to take the reigns from Tsunade and work to a lasting peace with the other Kage. In her mind, that had a much better chance for the long term. It was sad that all her friends and loved ones would think she had died. And that she herself had been unable to say goodbye. But in the end she dearly hoped it would prove to be for the best for the Elemental Nations' future, though she would never know.

* * *

Drawing in a deep breathe Naruko leaned back on the palms of her hands, enjoying the gentle breeze blowing through her blonde mane. She had tied it back in her usual high ponytail, leaving two long bangs along the side of her face reaching down to just above her bust. And a small lock of hair covering the edge of her right eye as it crossed over her nose.

Thinking about the future of the Elemental Nations also made her wonder how the lives of her friends would turn out. A play smirk spread across her lips as she decided to go and play matchmaker in her head a little.

_'Shikamaru's an easy one. He's definitely ending up with Temari. Those two keep up a pretty impressive act of loathing each other, but at the same time they constantly seek each other out every chance they get. She'll be good for him though. Giving his lazy ass a good kick into gear every now and again. Like... Every. Single. Day.'_ she chuckled as she imagined the lazy bum getting scolded by the blonde. They were so fun to watch it should be illegal. _'No wonder Ero-sennin always spied in on everyo- NO! Bad thoughts, don't approve of that pervert's peeking!'_

Shaking her head from **those** particular thoughts, she moved on to the next couple to be in her head. Kiba and Hinata. It wasn't hard to see that Kiba had developed rather strong feelings for his female team-mate, and personally she thought they'd make a nice couple. Loud though he may be, Kiba was by no means a bad guy. And his rather brash personality might help draw Hinata out of her shell a little more.

A sad sigh passed her lips as she next thought of Lee and Tenten. Both of them had seen the person they harbored feelings for die before their eyes. Sakura in Lee's case, and Neji in Tenten's. Maybe the two could find some form comfort in each other, sharing very much the same kind of pain from their respective loss.

Next was Shino. That was a tough one, she had to admit. The reclusive bug user wasn't exactly easy to get to know on a personal level, even to friends. She knew that behind his stoic exterior hid a nice guy though. Surely he'd find himself a nice girl that would accept him and love him, not being scared off by his bugs.

Gaara she already knew had eyes on someone. A brief little gossipy moment with Temari rewarded her that particular piece of information, something she would have loved to tease him endlessly with. No doubt he and this 'Sari' would live a happy life together. Lots of kids. She smirked widely at that last thought.

She crossed her hands behind her head and plopped down against the roof of the building, propping up her left leg and crossing her right over it as she stared up at the clear blue sky with a wide grin. Her friends were sure to live on their lives, both in memory of her and their others friends that hadn't made it. She was going to have to do the same for them. Build a new life here in this world in the memory of those she left behind in the Elemental Nations. And those who hadn't lived to see the end of the war.

From what she had discovered so far not a single person in this world held even a slight shred of chakra in their body, probably didn't even have a chakra system to begin with. That meant she would have to adjust and live a much more civil life herself if she wanted to fit in, something she was somewhat excited about. Living a normal, peaceful life sounded kind of nice after all the endless struggles back home. _'Guess that means I'll have to settle down like my friends will at some point. Besides, I **did** promise mom I'd find myself a nice girl. Well... Sort of.'_

Closing her eyes she giggled out loud at the memory of her meeting with Kushina in her mind-scape during the struggle with Kurama for control over his chakra. The look on her mother's face had been absolutely priceless when Naruko had blatantly told her she was not going to find herself a nice husband like her mother was suggesting. _"Sorry to disappoint you there, mom. I'm... Kind of on dad's team on that particular matter."_ was what she had told her mother, with a big cheeky grin. Deep down the amusement she felt at that moment had definitely been paired with a sense of dread however, unsure if Kushina would approve of that.

Kushina had, after recovering from the initial shock of the rather blunt announcement, burst out in laughter before pulling her daughter into a loving embrace. _"Then you go and find yourself a nice girl, sweetie. Shame there won't be any babies, but as long as you're happy I am too."_ was Kushina's response to her daughter. Naruko had clung tightly to her after hearing that, tears of happiness escaping her eyes. She was not used to people so readily accepting her, never quite able to forget how she used to struggle for people to even acknowledge her.

* * *

Once more her train of thoughts were interrupted when a clone dispelled itself. She sweatdropped at the last thought of her clone, complaining that it was hungry right before going up in a puff of smoke. _'Can a clone even get hungry?'_ she wondered, placing the palm of her right hand against her forehead with a groan. Admittedly she hadn't eaten since getting to this world, and it had been a while even before that... Okay so maybe her clone had a point, but it was still weird.

Pinching the bridge of her nose she decided to just let it go for now, she'd worry about food later. The memories she gained from the clone did not offer a whole lot of new knowledge per say. One particular fact did get her attention however. An update of sorts as to how much of this city was currently owned by the company called MBI.

Naruko had been hearing quite a fair bit about that company since she started exploring the city. Not to mention the 'MBI-tower' that stood above all the other skyscrapers, it was kind of hard to miss. What she had learned of the company thus far did not really sit well with her. Even with her limited knowledge of this world, she could tell there was something unusual about MBI. A company does not appear out of nowhere and rise to it's apparent supremacy within a measly twenty years through normal means.

_'It seems like the company's director is busying himself with buying out the entire city. That's some serious power grab... I don't like it.'_

It kind of reminded her of Gato's company and it's steel grip on Wave. Only MBI seemed to take control of this city in a legitimate manner, instead of marching in and taking over violently. That didn't change much in her eyes however. No matter what, a company has no business claiming ownership of almost an entire city like that. In Gato's case, it had been outright greed. Money didnt seem to be an issue to MBI. In fact, with the company buying out a majority of the city like it was nothing made Naruko think they had an almost endless wealth. She couldn't quite figure out the motives behind it though. But she definitely had a bad feeling about it.

The way the company had risen to it's current state was outrageous, even more so with the limited information that was available to the public. The company's full name, Mid Bio Informatics, indicated they were focused on medical developments. The company had jumped into the fray and swiftly secured a position of superiority for themselves with something called 'overtechnology'. That technology, whatever it was exactly, was the foundation of the company's mad rise to the top. That it was called 'over'technology made it sound like it wasn't entirely normal to start with. All in all, she had a bad feeling about MBI as a whole.

And then there was the head of the company, the man called Hiroto Minaka. **That** man unsettled her greatly. He looked like a completely deranged lunatic and acted the part as well. But the man was widely lauded as an unmatched genius, an opinion that was supported by the facts of how his company had grown to it's current day state. It just made it worse in Naruko's eyes. A deranged lunatic in charge of a company with such widespread influence in more than it's actual sector was troubling. A **genius**, deranged lunatic in charge of such a company, was downright terrifying.

A long drawn-out sigh passed her lips as she stared up at the sky. Of all the places in this world she could've ended up in, it had to be the one city where the gigantic and powerful company led by a madman was located. Something was definitely brewing beneath the seemingly calm surface. She felt it throughout the entire city, a subtle but tense atmosphere. Might be a good idea to hold off on that whole 'starting a new life' plan of hers for a while. Just to find out what the hell was going on.

While Naruko did not really have an intention to get too deeply involved with this world's matters, preferring to just keep a low profile instead, she wasn't sure she could idly sit by if something bad happened. Just wasn't her style after all.

Shaking her head slowly she closed her eyes, deciding to take a quick nap. Maybe she should start interacting with the people of the city, this endless analyzing of what she learned through her clones was beginning to sully her good moods. Troublesome.

_'Staring up at the sky, doing nothing actively and calling things troublesome... Great, I've become Shikamaru. How delightful!' _she snorted with some amusement.

* * *

Waking up two hours later from her short nap Naruko arched her back and stretched lucratively, groaning in delight to the point it almost sounded like a purr. "Ah... Goooood nap!" she muttered lazily.

Memories from a couple of dispelled clones hit her which she processed swiftly with ease. Two clones had been in the library for a little study session on this world, something she should probably keep up for a couple of days longer. The third and last clone that dispelled during her nap had some more immediate useful information. It discovered a neighborhood over in the east of the city with a fair number of shady people. While it wasn't much of an honorable way to get her hands on some money for food, relieving a group of criminals of some of their ill-earned Yen was not something Naruko would be too morally upset by.

Jumping to her feet she walked up to the edge of the building, cracking her neck before setting off towards the east at a leisurely pace. _'Probably going to have to scout around a little and wait till after sunset. Criminals do like to keep their wonderful deeds from being exposed to sunlight after all.'_

Another clone dispelled, almost causing her to stumble as the memories hit her. A happy grin spreading across her face as she giggled. Her clone had found something **very** much to her liking! _'Well... I know where I'll be getting my first meal in days. Ramen House, here I come!' _she mentally yelled in excitement. Hopefully the 'Ramen House' her clone found was ready for a seriously ramen-starved girl. And it had better be good ramen too!

* * *

With a completely neutral expression and crossed arms Naruko looked down at the two men in the dark alley below her, standing parallel to the ground high up against the one of the buildings. It had taken her much longer than she expected to find any kind of criminal activity going on, but eventually found the two gentlemen down in the alley making some kind of deal.

What the content of the deal was exactly, she didn't know. Her knowledge of this world not quite enough to make a proper educated guess to the sale occurring below her. Nor did she particularly care. Inwardly she was kind of glad as both men looked like rather unpleasant people. No need to feel bad for taking the seller's money after the two parted ways.

_'With the way they keep looking around, they honestly could not be more obvious. No subtlety at all, aside from the dark alley. Which in itself is kind of a dead giveaway.'_

The buyer left the alley shortly after the two completed their deal, leaving her target conveniently on his own. She clicked her tongue in amusement, waiting for a few short moments before dropping down to the ground. Landing silently behind the man she easily knocked him out with a chop to his neck, taking a small amount of pleasure in the sheer simplicity of it.

She flipped him over and ripped open the jacket and snuck her hand into the inner pocket she spotted him stashing his money in. Collecting the bundle in her hand she jumped back up, bouncing between the walls, to the lowest of the two roofs and counted the money. _ 'Hmm, so I now have 50,000 Yen... And not a damn clue of how much that actually is. Maybe the price of a good meal will help determine how much it is in value.'_

With that thought she tucked the money into a pocket in her pants and set off towards the ramen house her clone spotted earlier in the day. A couple of streets further she jumped down from the roofs into an empty alley, opting to walk the remainder of the trip to lower the chances of anyone spotting a person jumping from building to building. She quickly realized that she made the right call as she walked through an, apparently, much more crowded area. A fair few of these places were still opened and by the looks of it, most of them were bars or other nightlife establishments.

One of her clones had been through this area before, but that was during the afternoon at which time there was little of interest here. Not only were there more people, but at night the street simply had a lot more atmosphere to it. It was nice, she had to admit.

As she waded through the crowds one building caught her attention. It had a very similar look of the type of building she had gotten rather familiar with in her journey's with Jiraiya, aside from the many brothels. The sign above the entrance confirmed her first guess of this being a gamble house. A small smile formed on her lips as she thought back to the many gambling houses she and the pervert visited in their search for Tsunade. Or 'The Legendary Sucker' as those establishments called her.

_'Depending on how much value the money I got has, it might not be too bad an idea to try my luck at cards a little. I think I prefer that over my current method.' _Naruko thought to herself as she continued towards the ramen house. She felt no guilt for taking the guy's money, she could tell it wasn't a very pleasant man to begin with. It was somewhat of a necessity at the moment, but not something she wanted to make a habit out of. A bit of luck could possibly help with that a fair bit. _'Besides... Ero-sennin never managed to beat me at any card game he could come up with.'_ she thought while inwardly chuckling. _'Served the pervert right, constantly trying to steal my money!'_

Thinking about Tsunade's gambling and drinking addiction, and Jiraiya's obsessive perversions, made her think on the quirks many of the older ninja seemed to have. Kakashi had his precious smut, the books written by Jiraiya. Not to mention his habit of never being on time. Anko was... Anko. The woman scared the crap out of her during the Chunin Exams, but she eventually got to know her more and actually really liked her. They got along just swimmingly. Her obsession with Dango rivaled Naruko's own ramen addicted mind.

Then there was the old man, the Third Hokage. She was entirely certain the old man was a major closet pervert. Ibiki, while without a doubt in her head that he was a good man, creeped her out more than Anko did at times. He seemed to delight in psychological torture more than Anko did in physical torture. Team Ten's sensei, Asuma... Legend has it he was spotted **without** a cigarette, once. And Gai. No words needed there. Specially no youthful exclamations.

_'With all those weird ass influences in my life it's a miracle I turned out so normal...' _she muttered in her own head as she halted her pace, looking up to see the ramen house in front of her. Her stomach instantly began growling and she had to fight the urge to start salivating, causing a faint blush to appear on her cheeks, despite being sure no one actually heard her stomach. She sweatdropped at her own reaction to arriving at the restaurant. _'Okay... Maybe not entirely normal...'_

* * *

An hour later Naruko happily strolled out from the ramen house with a skip in her step, a big satisfied grin on her lips as she rubbed her stomach contently. While it was certainly no Ichiraku's it was definitely some damn fine ramen in her opinion. _'I officially give this place Naruko's Seal of Ramen Approval!'_ she gleefully thought.

The waiting staff, as well as a number of costumers, had boggled their eyes at the amount of ramen she was consuming. Naruko honestly felt that these people were exaggerating, five of the largest sized bowls of ramen was not **that** much. Not for her at least. So what that the helpings were large enough to constitute as a full meal for some people? There was no way she could live with herself knowing she only ate **one** bowl after so long. And in a new place too! It needed thorough taste-testing!

So she ended up scarfing down five bowls while maintaining a certain level of grace that belied the speed at which she ate. Every bowl a different type of ramen too, and surprisingly she liked them all just about equally. In her ramen craze, she completely forgot about any possible monetary issues. Worries that would have proven unneeded in the end.

_'Only 4,000 Yen for those five bowls... Still doesn't really give much indication as to how much value that 50,000 has exactly, but definitely more than I was expecting.'_ With that thought she walked back to where she saw the gambling house on her way to her now favourite place in this city. Upon paying for the ramen she decided she could afford a few games of chance. After all, it would likely be a great boon on the long term if she could get a few wins in.

When she entered the establishment she quickly realized it was quite a bit more spacious than the outside made it look to be. More crowded too, all gathered around a number of tables. After a quick look around she determined most tables were reserved for poker, aside for the two tables with blackjack and the one table she had no clue as to how that worked. A spinning, segmented bowl of some sorts with a lot of numbers on each segment and a small ball that was dropped into the bowl. She turned away from the unfamiliar game and looked at the six poker tables for a moment. Two in particular were very crowded, hinting that the big money was probably there. No point approaching those tables.

Eventually she settled for the busier of the two blackjack tables, slipping into the last remaining seat and offering her money to the dealer in return for chips. 40,000 is what she decided to play with, keeping the remaining 6,000 aside in case she pulled a Tsunade here.

Before long, the sum she had put down initially had multiplied already. After her first three wins she got bolder and bolder with her bets, and despite some losses it had payed off tremendously. This place appeared to pay out bonuses to certain card combinations, like a straight out blackjack or triple seven's. She never heard of that, but was not going to complain. Some individuals amongst both the spectators as well as the other players, some of who had come and gone already, looked at her with poorly hidden jealousy but she ignored them in favor of the cards in front of her. The dealer's continuously increasing sweaty appearance didn't fail to amuse her either.

After turning her 40,000 into a whopping 430,000 in only 45 minutes she left the table. Bowing her head at the dealer before sliding a 10,000 Yen chip in his direction with a charming wink. Cheerfully wading through the crowds, oblivious to the apparent rush for **her** seat at the table, she moved towards the two more popular poker tables.

Her earlier assumption was proven correct as she noticed the minimum wagers per game at these tables. 6,000 and 20,000 respectively, with the latter being occupied exclusively by men with easily twice the amount she had gotten with blackjack sitting in front of them. A wide, fox-like grin spread across her face as she felt a sadistic streak rise up within herself. She wanted a seat at that table!

* * *

It was deep into the night when Naruko finally emerged from the gambling house with a small, sturdy looking briefcase held in her right hand. Her features still perfectly schooled into her flawless pokerface, but on the inside she was cackling madly. That had gone so much better than she could have hoped for it was ridiculous. When she claimed a seat at the table once the person before her left, she was looked down upon by the remaining nine gentlemen. Both for her gender, and possibly age, as well as for the 'meager' sum she put down to play with.

Their mockery and arrogance hadn't lasted very long at all. After being forced to fold on her first two games, which only resulted in more ridicule from the players as well as the surrounding spectators, she had struck back at game number three. Handily sweeping a fairly large amount of money her way, silencing most of the spectators. Murmurs of "Dumb luck" and the sort were going around, but she didn't care.

Aside from it having been a great success, she really enjoyed her time playing poker. The mockery had died out after roughly half an hour, and she actually ended up bantering with a few people around her a little between games. Playing it herself in this environment, she could understand why Tsunade liked it so much. Even though their reasons and mindsets were entirely different. Not to mention the results, which was a difference of night and day. There was a definite back and forth going on constantly between herself and the gentlemen at the table, but ultimately the majority of the money was slowly but surely gravitating in her direction as the night progressed.

She walked down the street with a self-satisfied stride in a random direction. Enjoying the aftermath of completely cleaning house at poker. Those arrogant bastards sure were persistent, admirably so she had to admit. They didn't back down at all, staying at the table till the bitter end. And bitter it was! For them.

Those few hours of poker had netted her a little over an astonishing 7,000,000 Yen. That would last her for a while she figured. _'Ero-sennin had a point in saying I have unnatural luck at cards I guess. That or I'm just that awesome!' _she giggled inwardly as she skipped across the street for a moment.

After coming down from her high she took a few glances around her to see if anyone was around. Spotting no one, she jumped up to the roofs of the buildings and out of sight. She sat down cross-legged and placed the briefcase containing her winnings in front of her. Opening it for a moment she took out the 40,000 she started her gambling adventure with, tucking it into her pockets. After that she channeled some chakra into her left arm she revealed a number of storage seals engraved into her lower arm. With a puff of smoke she sealed the briefcase with her 'hard-earned' money into one of the seals.

Getting back up to her feet she arched her back and raised both arms above her head, stretching herself with a delighted groan. A deep yawn followed right after. With half-lidded eyes she decided to get herself a well deserved nap somewhere. Preferably on something that wasn't concrete too. With that she jumped across the roofs into the direction she had been heading already. Which, if her memory served her right, was one of the more residential area's up in the north of the city.

_'A hotel is out of the question. Considering how much that company MBI owns it's a big chance I end up in one of **their** hotels. I'd rather stay far away from their radar for the time being.'_

Naruko eventually arrived at a nice looking neighborhood, it definitely appeared very quiet at this time of night. No lights were burning anywhere, and not a single person was seen on the streets. Spotting a nice, big tree she nodded to herself and hopped over towards it. Settling herself on one of the thicker branches she leaned against the tree and crossed her legs while at the same time crossing her arms behind her head. This would most certainly do, much better than sleeping on the roof of those concrete monstrosities.

With a deep, content sigh she slowly drifted off to sleep.


End file.
